Editor’s note: The Arizona Daily Wildcat’s Kara Bauman caught up with Arizona volleyball outside hitter Tiffany Owens this week to talk about her being named the Pacific 10 Conference Player of the Week on Monday, then National Player of the Week on Tuesday. The sophomore discussed her awards, dreams of becoming a neonatal nurse.
How rewarding is it to get the first weekly award for Arizona since the 2005 season?
It’s an honor. When I first heard the news from (head coach) Dave (Rubio) I was thrilled. It’s such an honor to receive one of those awards. I couldn’t be happier. I feel like I’ve accomplished something, but I still have a long way to go.
Kim Glass won the award last. Do you ever talk to her or see her around?
No, I never see her around or talk to her. I wish I could talk to her because she’s my role model and everything.
She’s off doing her thing in the professional volleyball world, playing in the Olympics and whatnot. Is that something you can see yourself doing after you graduate?
That’s the plan after I graduate. Hopefully I’ll get on some sort of pro team in Europe, and we’ll take it from there. But if that doesn’t work out, then I’ll have to pursue my career.
So if volleyball doesn’t work out, what are your dreams after college?
Well, my dream after college is to become a neonatal nurse and work with babies and everything. That’s the plan B if plan A doesn’t work out. … I’d help the premature or sickly babies when they’re first born. I adore babies, so I figure being a neonatal nurse would be perfect for me.
What has inspired you to work in that specific field?
I was lucky enough – well I don’t know if lucky is the right word – but I was able to babysit all of my nieces and nephews. I have three sisters (and a brother). Every year my sisters were always pregnant and so I’d be really happy to just be there during their pregnancy and being able to babysit after. That’s what’s inspired me. I have 10 nieces and nephews.
Back to volleyball. This will be your first time playing in the NCAA Tournament. How excited are you?
I’m very excited. This is extremely exciting. I’m excited to see how far it will take us this year. I can’t wait. No words can describe how I feel right now.
It’s pretty common for you to lead the team in kills, but in the match against Oregon State there was this one kill you had that, I think, hit the 10-foot line. No joke. After the ball hit the floor on the other side, everyone in McKale was cheering but your face was pretty close to emotionless. Explain this to me.
I’ve always been like that ever since I was in high school. You know, I really need to work on that more, because I realize that my teammates feed off of my enthusiasm on the court. So, I don’t know, I need to work on it more and be more excited. When I get a block, I cheer more with that than I do with that kill that hit the 10-foot line. … I just try to keep my composure, but I need to work on that more.
Must come along with being so good. It’s not really that out of the ordinary for you to get a kill like that. But I also noticed that no matter how well you perform on the court, you seem to stay humble.
I think being calm and not panicking and stuff like that helps me when I’m performing in volleyball. I’m not the type of person to get rattled. I like to just keep my composure as I’m playing.
What do you do in your free time?
Now? I like to sleep in my free time. And I like to go shopping and play with my cat, Lily.
Aw, how old is your cat?
She’s 5 months.
Tell me about her. How did you go about getting her?
Well, me and Kaylen (Bannister) always wanted some kind of livelihood in our house. We started out with a fish, but we realized we wanted more than that. So we ended up getting a cat. We adopted her from the pound.
What happened to your fish?
Our fish is still alive. He’s still there.
Oh, what’s his name?
We named our fish Gucci.
